JP Morgan Chase's chief compliance officer has left the nation's largest bank as JP Morgan grapples with a variety of regulatory headaches, lawsuits and investigations, according to a memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and people familiar with the move.

Cindy Armine, who was in the post for roughly one year, exited for a position with another company, according to the company memo. The new company wasn't named in the memo, but people familiar with the move expect her to take a job with First Data Corp., the Atlanta payment processor run by former JP Morgan executive Frank Bisignano. A First Data spokeswoman couldn't be reached immediately for comment.

Bisignano has recruited several former colleagues since leaving JP Morgan last April, angering some old counterparts at JP Morgan. First Data agreed last month to pay millions of dollars to JP Morgan in exchange for a pledge from the bank that it wouldn't challenge any new hires, said people familiar with the deal.

The exit of Armine is the latest in a string of high-profile departures as the bank works to improve controls and satisfy regulators. Her role involved direct dealings with US regulators and monitoring of JP Morgan's compliance with all laws and regulations.

The role of chief compliance officer will be filled on an interim basis by Lou Rauchenberger, chief administrative officer for the company's corporate and investment bank. The company is looking for a permanent replacement, according to the internal memo.

Armine was elevated to the role of chief compliance officer in early 2013 as part of a larger overhaul of JP Morgan's top control positions amid regulatory scrutiny that intensified in the wake of the firm's "London whale" trading debacle. She replaced Martha Gallo, who has since retired, and as part of another internal shift began reporting to chief operating Officer Matt Zames instead of General Counsel Stephen Cutler.

JP Morgan has agreed to more than $20 billion in settlements over the past year to resolve a number of government investigations and lawsuits, but it still faces a number of federal probes that are expected to heat up in 2014. The firm said Tuesday that beefing up regulatory controls remains a priority for 2014 as it expects to add 3,000 employees in that area after adding 7,000 such employees in 2013.

Armine was formerly head of global compliance at Citigroup, where she worked with Bisignano previously. She joined JP Morgan in 2011 as chief control officer for its home-loan business and helped the bank work through regulatory sanctions related to foreclosure practices. She served briefly as co-chief control officer for the entire firm in late 2012 before taking the chief compliance role in January 2013.

"We have made great progress over the past few years on our controls agenda and we will continue to focus on it relentlessly," Zames said in the internal memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.